Sunday was a good day for the LSU men’s golf team, which placed first in the LSU National Invitational at Baton Rouge’s University Club.
LSU’s two-day, three-round, 11-under-par 853 gave the team enough to capture first, and senior Austin Gutgsell also earned top honors with his 9-under-par 207 finish.
The tournament was the last of the regular season for LSU and Gutgsell’s and fellow senior Sang Yi’s careers.
“It was a great way to cap off Sang and I’s senior year,” Gutgsell said. “It’s always good to play well in front of your home crowd because they do so much for us, and we like to be able to repay them whenever we can.”
The Hawkeyes topped the leaderboard after Saturday’s two rounds with a combined 8-under-par 568 team score. The Tigers were in second place heading into Sunday, trailing by six strokes with a
2-under-par 574.
Gutgsell was also trailing, finishing Saturday in a tie for fifth with a 2-under-par 142, and he said he knew Sunday’s round would have to be impressive for him to move up the boards.
“Impressive” can certainly describe his final round, as he managed five birdies on the front nine holes, with another birdie and an eagle on the back nine. Gutgsell posted just one bogey through the final 18.
The round allowed him to steal the victory by four strokes. LSU sophomore Andrew Presley came in third, just five strokes behind with a 4-under-par 212.
Yi finished in a three-way tie for ninth place with an even-with-par 216.
Yi said despite making it in the top 10, the final round of the tournament presented some problems for him.
“It was a grind and a struggle all day,” Yi said. “I was fighting my swing, my putting, everything, but I was able to pull out a couple of birdies and help the team.”
Freshman Curtis Thompson rounded out the Tigers’ top 20 with a 5-over-par 221 tie for 17th place.
The LSU Invitational marked the third win for the Tigers this spring, and Yi said these victories will add to the squad’s prestige going into the Southeastern Conference Championships.
“It just gives us momentum, and it’s about knowing that we can win,” Yi said. “It’s knowing that we can come down the stretch and make the shots we need to.”
The Tigers will now have a break, with the SEC Championships starting April 20 on St. Simons Island, Ga.
 
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Contact Morgan Wampold at [email protected]